The Unbridled and Arrogant Wind

In a basement dozens of meters underground, Danzo sat quietly beneath the bright lights, a cup of hot tea before him. Across from him, Orochimaru slowly savored his tea.

After a long silence, Orochimaru decided there was no point in competing with Danzo in patience. After all, they had committed evil together for more than a decade; they knew each other far too well.

"I heard that ever since you were stripped of your position, you've been living underground. Are you so afraid of sunlight? So afraid of facing Shiraishi Yoshijo? Just a statue was enough to drive a ninja known as Shinobi no Yami into hiding underground like a rat. As expected of Yoshijo-kun. I'm finding myself more and more impressed by him."

To strike a snake, strike its vital point. Shiraishi Yoshijo was Danzo's Achilles heel.

Sure enough, merely hearing that name made Danzo glare as though he wanted to devour someone. He roared, "Orochimaru, you bastard, do you have a death wish?"

"Oh my, you're angry already? How frightening. But I've heard that the fiercer a dog barks, the less confidence it has in its heart. Danzo, do you think that makes sense?"

After saying that, Orochimaru let out a strange, rasping laugh.

Orochimaru's indirect taunt instead calmed Danzo down. He picked up his teacup, took a sip, and gently set it back down.

"Orochimaru, do you have any right to talk about me? I know you've always been jealous of Shiraishi Yoshijo. You desperately wanted to surpass him. You were clearly the dead last at the ninja academy, yet because of his good background, he was always standing over you. That was why you fought for power and influence. But after you gained power, you suddenly realized that your strength still fell short of Shiraishi Yoshijo's,